Amazon delivery - beware!

[KY*Figment]

So, we decided to buy my dad a new TV for a combo bday/Christmas/retirement gift. Found one on Amazon. They delivered it Saturday to my sister's house. Left it ON HER FRONT PORCH, with the picture of the TV and "42 INCH" for the world to see.

My sis lives in a decent neighborhood, but there are a LOT of rentals now...I am SHOCKED it was still there.

Today, Amazon also left her new video camera outside. Seriously...beware!

I was told when they would be there so I could be prepared. They were there on time. All I ordered was after shave for my husband.

 

[disneychic2]

Best Buy always sends expensive items via UPS, but I have to sign for them. I don't pay extra for this, it probably just saves BB from having to replace stolen items. I think that's a good policy. I would contact the carrier as a pp suggested, and let them know your preferences for delivery. Problem solved. (Maybe an apology to all renters would be in order? I'm sure you didn't mean to offend.)

 

[Pig Pen]

My kindle was delivered on a Saturday when I wasn't home. It came USPS. It didn't fit in the mailbox so the carrier rubber-banded it to the mailbox door...most of it was sticking out and it was pouring rain! The tracking site said it would be delivered on Monday so I wasn't expecting it on Saturday. It was okay, but anyone could have grabbed it off the mailbox. I was somewhat appalled, especially since my mailbox is right next to my front door and the carrier could have easily slipped it behind the screen door. I am sure there are strict rules and regulations about this though!

BTW, I am a renter and I didn't take offense at the OP's reference.

 

[ssawka]

Not to sound negative but why weren’t they home if they knew when it was being delivered? I order all the time from amazon.com and I know exactly when items are to be delivered. Most expensive item I’ve order was about $300 and I took a sick day to be home to receive it…and I live in one of the better areas.

Seriously? I just ordered a whole bunch of items from different vendors, and they'll probably arrive on different days. Should I take the whole week off?

When our packages arrive USPS, they're put in our mailbox when they fit but when they don't, our carrier brings it to the door and rings the bell to hand it to us. MUCH better.

Unfortunately, it is illegal for anyone to put anything in your mailbox except you or a postal employee. Even though you buy the mailbox, it is considered property of the Federal Government. I agree that they should knock or ring the doorbell.

I seem to remember a NEWS story from last year where thieves were going around taking packages from people's porches. They only way to totally prevent that is to not order mail order since you can't be sure the vendor will request a signature. You are suppose to be able to contact UPS and FedEx and ask them to not leave things on the porch, but they don't always listen.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Awesome stereotyping- I hope you are teaching your children better than yourself.

exactly I guess I am a potential thief since I rent


I also blame it on ups... I have 4 boxes delivered yesterday and I am expecting 10 more today, including an ipod touch. I will be on the lookout for it.

 

[MOMTOCUTESTDOGEVER]

What does the fact that there are a lot of rentals in the neighborhood have to do with anything? Does that mean that people that rent are all thieves?

 

[Swimalie]

As others have said, it's the carrier's fault, not Amazon. And having renters means nothing. I live in an area with a lot of renters due to a lot of military and transfers of jobs (Fed govt) and there are renters here that I trust a lot more than the homeowners. The renters across the street are our house sitters when we go away.

Fed Ex here is okay. But the UPS guy is awesome. He will wait for me to answer the door. He knows I'm a stay at home mom because he sees me outside all the time with my son. It just depends on the individual driver, I guess.

 

[kamik86]

Wow we must just have competant drivers. Even if both I and my husband are at work they know that our back door is an unlocked door that just goes to a set of stairs (only goes to our apartment though) and the real door to our apartment that locks is at the top so anything that doesn't fit in the mailbox goes inside the door on the stairs.

Yes someone could still steal it as the door isn't locked but some random person walking by won't know it is there

 

[TaraPA]

It is wrong to blame amazon THEY aren't delivering it! It is whatever delivery service is being used, whether it is UPS, Fed EX or any of the others. When you order something you can always pay extra to have a signature required which means they won't leave it on the porch. So instead of griping pay for the service you want. I don't mind them leaving it on the porch and don't want to pay extra. You obviously want the extra service so pay for it. I also make sure I"m home or someone is if a very expensive article is being delivered.

DITTO! You want top notch delivery service, then you have to pay for it! Amazon does offer several delivery options at check-out.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I am sorry - I did not mean to stereotype! I just meant there are several families in her neighborhood that have rented, and there has been an increase in theft - her car was broken into, her yard has had vandalism (fenced yard, her hammock was cut with a knife, twice - once just enough so when she went to sit down, it broke). The people in these homes have teenagers hanging outside, etc, that she never had before. I by NO means think *all* renters are bad!! So sorry!

As far as it not being Amazon's fault - we were told it was coming Monday, which we did have plans for a neighbor to watch for it, and have a sign on the door. While it was great it came a day early, it was never told to us, so we did not know to prepare. I agree the shipper should not have left it.

Sorry, was just trying to warn people to watch for big items being shipped.

 

[pandora174]

Awesome stereotyping- I hope you are teaching your children better than yourself.

Coming from a "rentor" I have never stolen my neighbor's packages nor have they taken mine. But last Christmas with Dooney & HSN UPS left the packages outside. My DH is a SAHD & no one knocked & the packages showed as delivered. I called both Dooney & HSN & UPS immediately & had my packages re-sent. After this issue UPS only leaves packages with a signature since both merchants filed claims.

A few weeks later a UPS person called me to make sure I received my new packages & apologized & said that they was a lot of temporary employees hired during the holdiay season & on the date of my missing packages they had a temp. I was asked if I was willing to sign an Affidavit that the items were not delivered. I said sure & received a letter in the mail which I signed & returned. He gave me the impression it was the UPS driver but that's just my opinion. & no it was not the 1 other renter next to me or the elderly couple who owns their home 2 houses down since we know all our neighbors, even the "renters" like me & we keep an eye out for each other & our homes, rented or not

 

[spacemountainmom]

We all realize that the Fed Ex and UPS guys have nothing better to do than come to your house several times to try and deliver a package. They have no other deliveries or pickups except for yours. They would just love to come back after 5 when you are home because they haven't been at work since 6 am and don't have families waiting for them.

They also love when you don't shovel and expect them to deliver your package right to the door.

They also believe you when you say your dog won't hurt a flea and then get bit.

They love when you are tracking your package online and call 17 times and ask why your package has not been delivered yet.

They love shippers who send big ticket items and don't require a signature so they might have to leave a package when they would rather not, but are under pressure to get everything off their truck.

They love when people get cranky at them because certain items require an adult signature and they can't let your kid sign for it.

Maybe next time people might want to give a little consideration to those who make sure they get all their deliveries....especially during the holiday season.

Don't get me wrong, most enjoy their jobs....but they are people too and deserve your consideration.

 

[ksloane]

I would leave a sign on your door with instructions as to how you want deliveries handled. I share 100 acres with my retired grandmother and great uncle. Between the two, one or the other is usually home. I keep a sign on my door year round (yes, it might be ugly, but it gets the job done) that if I'm not home to please deliver all packages to one of their houses. Our carriers are great, USPS, UPS, and Fed Ex about doing this. As mentioned in the previous post, many would like to do a good job, and feel better about putting products in someones hand versus leaving it on the porch, but they must also do their job - to deliver the boxes on their truck.


I have noticed lots of large items are clearly labeled from various vendors though (I ordered luggage and televisions during the last year and both were obvious as to the contents) so everyone should think about that when ordering gifts if you are trying to keep secrets. I now put my uncles name and address on big items so that they aren't brought to our house - period.

 

[blackforest]

Ours UPS guy rings the bell or tucks it away out of site, and we live 1/2 a mile from the road! Oh, and he gives our lab a treat when he comes. It was so sweet the other day, our package was waiting, and so was a dog biscuit on top of the box!

 

[Swimalie]

Sorry, was just trying to warn people to watch for big items being shipped.

Very well said!

Along those lines, for those of you getting a big ticket item and throwing or, hopefully, recycling the box, don't just put it out curbside. Cut the box up or make sure it's not sitting out in full view. Thieves, especially this time of year, like to drive around and see who has big ticket boxes sitting out. They know who they can target to burglarize of those big ticket items. My husband is a former police officer and this is something he learned while working a lot of burglaries in the town we lived in.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Well I got a message this morning from amazon stating that our postman tried to deliver but wouldnt leave the DVD's unattended...Kinda funny since I saw our postman put two video games in our mailbox and never did he get out of the truck!

On a side note as previous posters said sometimes Amazon is the shipper/seller and sometimes they are not (Direct from company)...I was peeved because 2 games I got charged shipping and handling(negated the savings on the darn things) when I get free shipping and handling but on closer review I realized they were not shipped from amazon directly....

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Amazon does offer several delivery options at check-out.

The options are for the speed of delivery. You don't get to chose the delivery method (USPS, UPS, FedEx, A1, etc.).

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

If it makes you feel any better those renters probably came from a better neighborhood where they once owned a house...

That would be us. We still own a home in MD worth twice as much as the one we rent in GA. We couldn't sell our house in MD before the Army moved us so we had to rent it out. Does that make us ok since we are technically landlords AND tenants?

Right after we moved in this summer we had a package stolen from us supposedly by a fill-in postal carrier. The package was scanned in as delivered but I was home when the mail came and no package was ever delivered to us. I complained to the postmaster but nothing ever came of it. The regular postal carrier told me that other packages went missing that day from the same route so they strongly suspected the carrier but that carrier is still working the route as a temp.

 

[elgerber]

Ours UPS guy rings the bell or tucks it away out of site, and we live 1/2 a mile from the road! Oh, and he gives our lab a treat when he comes. It was so sweet the other day, our packake was waiting, and so was a dog biscuit on top of the box!

Our UPS driver does this too. He knows we have two dogs, so he always leaves 2 biscuits on the packages.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

my neighbor had new checks in boxes delivered from her bank and left on her porch! The boxes had the name of the bank in BIG letters on the outside.